Brent Venables appears to be heading back to Oklahoma.
The longtime Clemson defensive coordinator has been hired as the next head coach of the Sooners, according to Yahoo Sports’ Pete Thamel. He replaces Lincoln Riley, who took the same position at USC after 5 seasons.
Venables was the Sooners’ co-defensive coordinator from 1999-2003 and later associate head coach and sole defensive coordinator under Bob Stoops from 2004-2011 before being leaving for Clemson. While with the Tigers, he won 2 national championships and also won the Broyles Award in 2016, given to the best assistant coach in the country. With Oklahoma, he won a national championship in 2000.
At Clemson, he eventually became the 2nd-highest paid assistant coach in college football. Now, the 50-year-old looks to get his first head coaching position at a place he knows very well.
Sydney is an Atlanta-based journalist who has covered everything from SEC and ACC football to MLS, the U.S. men's national soccer team and professional tennis. His work has appeared on such platforms as SB Nation, Cox Media Group and FanSided.
